British airline Virgin Atlantic is teaming up with Joby Aviation, a new company that makes air taxis, to make travel to and from airports in the UK faster and easier. However, the UK government still needs to give the green light for air taxis to operate.
Virgin Atlantic’s CEO, Shai Weiss, said in an interview that they are excited to launch the service in the UK as soon as they can. He explained it simply: “Think about traveling from Canary Wharf to New York!” Canary Wharf is a major financial area in London.
Joby Aviation plans to offer 11-minute trips connecting London Heathrow Airport and Canary Wharf, which are about 25 miles apart. The prices for these trips will be similar to current premium ride-sharing options, like Uber.
Joby is one of the companies making electric air taxis, which are vehicles that can take off and land vertically. They hope to start services in Dubai this year or by early 2026.
The company is waiting for the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority to approve their application, and they wish to get the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration’s certification too. One challenge they face is finding places to take off and land, called vertiports. Joby will operate some of these sites but is also looking for help from local governments and investors to build more.
JoeBen Bevirt, the CEO of Joby, mentioned that securing these locations might take the longest time before they can launch services, similar to what they experienced in Dubai.
Commercial details of the partnership between Virgin and Joby haven’t been shared, but Delta Air Lines owns parts of both companies. They have a similar agreement with Joby.
Virgin Atlantic had previously partnered with another air taxi startup, Vertical Aerospace Ltd., but Weiss mentioned that partnership ended last year.
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